short story

Plan C: Chapter IV

/ cksdays / 2 Comments

Plan C: South Pass

            Lizzie stepped out of the car and breathed deeply.  While she loved the thrill of the fast-paced life she lived in New York she had to admit, she was a Wyoming girl at heart.  One thing she realized she had missed living back east was the mountains.  How the crisp cool air could snap your lungs to attention.  She had a small reminder when she arrived late spring in town but today, back in the Wind River Range, she realized just how much she missed the mountains.  This place where she currently stood was truly one of her favorite spots.

Continue reading →

Plan C: Chapter III

/ cksdays / 2 Comments

Plan C: The Request

            Lizzie settled into some sort of restless routine.  At first, nothing felt mundane because she was aware of the fact she would soon miss all the small moments she was having with her dad.  Every moment felt like a gift.  But that feeling was short lived once the routine became familiar and she started taking those small moments for granted again.  Life was moving downstream and she got caught in the current of routine.  Until one morning when she saw her dad sitting in the kitchen.  He was normally up before she was and would work the crossword puzzle at the kitchen table.  This particular morning though, he just sat in the dark.

Continue reading →

Plan C: Chapter II

/ cksdays / 2 Comments

Plan C: Purpose

            Lizzie stood and watched the train pass.  But this time, she didn’t yell.  She had no desire to yell.  Instead, she simply watched the train with her arms crossed.  A slight movement to her right made her aware she had company.

            It was Matt.  Of course it was Matt.  How did he know she was at the tracks again?  He didn’t bother to speak since she would not have been able to hear him anyway.  She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.  He tilted his head toward the train.  True, last time he found her here they ended up yelling at the top of their lungs until their voices were hoarse.  That was the day she found out about her dad’s cancer.  It was only two days ago but it felt much longer than that.  She felt like a different person.  Despite the bombshell news she actually felt calmer.

Continue reading →

Plan C: Chapter I

/ cksdays / 1 Comment

Plan C: The Meeting

            Lizzie took a deep breath and looked at the clock.  It was almost time to meet with her agent via Zoom and yet her father, Chuck, still sat at the kitchen table. Working on a crossword puzzle.  It was as if he had no intention of moving from his spot.  Yet, she needed him to move so that she could talk to her agent without an audience.  She was nervous enough, she didn’t need an extra pair of eyes watching or ears hearing.  Guilt about shooing him out of his own house prevented her from speaking up.  Especially after the doctor’s news they received yesterday.  But she just could not do this meeting with him in earshot and he was the one that insisted that she keep the meeting.

Continue reading →

Story behind the post: Plan B

/ cksdays / Leave a comment

Welcome to July! The mid-month of the northern hemisphere summer (based on the traditional school calendar that still has a hold on so many of our schedules). This year, July also happens to be sandwiched in between two 5-Saturday months. Which means, here at ck’s days, it is in the middle of two 5-part short stories. And if you have been a reader of this little blog for a minute or two, you know I write short stories during the 5-Saturday months and you probably also picked up on the fact that when they are so close together like this, I tend to combine the stories into a 10-part short story. Much like that last sentence, the stories tend to get stretched a little thin. But I digress, let’s talk about last month’s short story first.

Continue reading →

Plan B: Chapter IV

/ cksdays / 2 Comments

Chapter IV: Good News/Bad News

            Lizzie rested her forehead on her steering wheel.  She couldn’t move.  Her car was parked downtown facing the train tracks and she needed a train to come by.  A big, loud train that would drown out the scream that was inside of her needing to get out.  This is how she took care of overwhelming problems in high school.  The fact that the last time she remembered coming to this exact spot was when her mom passed away was not lost on her.

Continue reading →

Plan B: Chapter III

/ cksdays / 2 Comments

Chapter III Movie Club

Lizzie stood outside the library door Friday night wondering how this could possibly be her life now. Instead of a hip New York club she was waiting for someone to open the library, the li-bra-ry door of all places.  On a Friday night.  “Someone sure hates me,” she said and glanced upward.  As soon as she did though, the thought occurred to her if she was still back in New York she would probably be working and still wouldn’t be at a hip New York club unless she was waitressing there. “Fine,” she mumbled to no one in particular.  “I get it, I get it.”

Continue reading →

Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter V

/ cksdays / Leave a comment

CHAPTER V: VH1 Behind the Music

“Is your homework done?” Amanda asked her daughter Millie even though she knew the answer.

“I am just getting to it,” Millie replied rolling off the futon.

“I bet,” her mother said and picked up the remote.  “Let’s get rid of the distractions, shall we?” she aimed it at the television but stopped before turning it off.

“Whatever happened to Jimmy B.?” the unseen announcer in the television show asked.  “This is VH1 and you are watching Behind the Music, stay tuned.”

Amanda sat down on the futon.

“Mom?” Millie asked.  “What are you doing?”

“I loved Jimmy B.!” she said.  “You know, he was my very first concert.” She looked at her daughter.  “I was probably about your age.”

Continue reading →

Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter IV

/ cksdays / 1 Comment

CHAPTER IV: Descent

Jimmy B sighed and closed his eyes. He hated playing this particular venue.  Two years ago he played at this arena and his whole life changed.  That was his first big concert with 20,000 screaming fans.  Nothing could have prepared him for the whirlwind that night thrust him into. 

For starters, his mom and his manager Pete drew definite lines after that concert.  Neither one was willing to give an inch on Jimmy’s future.  Pete was concerned with the bottom hard line: money and profit.  Namely his.  Jimmy’s mom was more motivated toward making sure her son was healthy and happy.  The two lines never crossed and Jimmy was stuck in the middle.  He often felt like a rope in a tug of war. 

Continue reading →